The 103,000-square-foot home-improvement store opened March 2010 and was the anchor of a redevelopment project that had previously suffered setbacks. Civic leaders had fought for nearly two decades to revive the blighted center near South Federal Boulevard and West Alameda Avenue.

Alameda Square was declared blighted in 1991. Efforts to revive the center hit numerous roadblocks, including vocal community resistance to the possibility that a Wal-Mart’s would fill the space.

In 2010, the Boise-based Brighton Corporation[5] spent $28.6 million on the redevelopment with Lowe’s anchoring the project. Lowe’s was leasing its space.

The project was backed by the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, which agreed to reimburse Brighton up to $7.3 million from sales and property taxes[6] generated at Alameda Square. But now that is all up in the air, according to Matt Smith, principal with Brighton.

“It was not good news yesterday,” he said, adding that Lowe’s doesn’t have any obligation to pay back the money that would have come from the TIF that goes through 2016.

“We hope they can re-lease it or do something,” Smith said. “It’s a good spot. We hope someone can take it over.”

The store has 90 employees, 63 of whom are full time. It will be open until Nov. 13 while inventory is being liquidated.

Council President Chris Nevitt[7], whose district includes Alameda Square, said the news about the closure was devastating but the story isn’t a complete disaster.

“We are now in a much better place than we were,” he said, adding that the area used to be blighted, with “crappy storefronts” and poor drainage. Separate owners were always in conflict and gangs used to have fights on the property.

Now, streets and sidewalks have been improved, a retention pond helps with flooding.

“We did make multiple steps forward,” he said.

But the notion that Denver lost another “big box” retailer doesn’t sit well in the economic development[8] community. During the mayoral election, candidate Chris Romer[9] often brought up the problem that Denver’s sales tax revenue was hurt because big box stores generally set up outside of the city’s borders.

Hancock would say his economic development plan never included “putting a big box store on every corner.” Today, he repeated that notion, but added that doesn’t mean he wants to see the ones that are here leave.